Pratt Institute has set its sights on the London designer Nicholas Daley to be honored with this year’s Pratt Fashion Visionary Award.
He will be saluted at the “2025 Pratt Shows: Fashion” event at Powerhouse Books in Brooklyn on May 16. Announcing the news, the interdisciplinary design school highlighted Daley’s “impactful blend of heritage, identity, and community-driven craftsmanship,” which is aligned with Pratt’s track record of “inspiring future designers to innovate while honoring tradition.”
This spring’s celebration in New York will be Pratt’s 124th annual showcase and it will feature the designs of Pratt Fashion Department’s graduating seniors. The school’s fashion program was the first one to be established in the country.
In a statement, the department’s chair Lisa Morgan said Daley’s “dedication to storytelling through design, commitment to responsible practices and ability to reimagine cultural narratives within contemporary fashion” truly embodies the values of the department and the school.
A spring 2023 Nicholas Daley look shown in London.
In the past decade, Daley has been named an LVMH Prize finalist, a British Fashion Council/GQ Designer Fashion Fund winner, and a British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund finalist. He has also teamed up for collaborations with an assortment of brands including Adidas, Mulberry, Fred Perry, and Carhartt Work in Progress.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to designer Nicholas Daley about pieces from his brand.
Courtesy of the British Fashion Council
On Sunday, Daley was on hand to chat with London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, who opened the British Fashion Council’s three-day pop-up store on Regent Street. In June, the British designer returned to Chelsea Football Club’s Blue Creator Fund as its creative director for the second consecutive year. In that role, he is helping to mentor five creatives from underrepresented backgrounds, who have each been awarded 20,000 pounds to work on a project about Chelsea and its community using music, art, photography or fashion. Last year Daley was also enlisted as part of the accelerator program “The New Wave at Saks.”
Daley could not be reached immediately Tuesday for comment.
Eden wears Nicholas Daley, Joakin wears Namacheko and Alek wears Feben.
Browns
He said in a statement, “It is important to celebrate diversity, community, culture, and craftsmanship, which I hope, through my own fashion line, can inspire future fashion designers to follow their own creative journeys through their collections.”
After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2013, he launched his signature label with a “Culture Clash” collection for spring 2015. The London-based talent incorporates Black British and diasporic themes into his contemporary menswear. His work can be found in the National Museum of Scotland, and it has previously been featured at the Victoria & Albert Museum among other art institutions.
The designer grew up in Leicestershire and first studied at De Montfort University and also worked in a streetwear store. Daley, whose mother is from Scotland and whose father is from Jamaica, has explored multiculturalism in his collections.
In interviews, he has spoken of his admiration for Yohji Yamamoto, as well as being inspired by the photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita, who were both pioneers in documenting the lives of West African people in the ’60s and ’70s.
As this year’s recipient of the Pratt Fashion Visionary Award, Daley follows in the footsteps of such other honorees as Francesco Risso, Robin Givhan, Lindsay Peoples, Kerby Jean-Raymond and Gabriela Hearst.
